Former residents

We remember, acknowledge and honour the women and children who spent time in Good Shepherd institutions. We acknowledge their diverse experiences, including loss and trauma. We are continually learning about how to reach out and listen to people who have been affected.

National Redress Scheme

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd, also known as The Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, are a participating institution in the National Redress Scheme.

The National Redress Scheme provides acknowledgement and support to people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse.

It was created in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which estimated that 60,000 people experienced institutional child sexual abuse in Australia.

Redress is an alternative to seeking compensation through the courts.

The National Redress Scheme can provide three things:

Access to counselling

A Redress payment

A direct personal response from the institution (for example, an apology) for people who want it

The Scheme started on 1 July 2018 and will run for 10 years.

People who were abused in the care of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd can apply to the Scheme for redress.

People can apply now using an online or paper form.

Free and confidential Redress Support Services are available throughout the process. They can support people before, during and after they apply for redress. Services can provide practical and emotional support, legal advice and financial counselling.

Heritage Engagement program

Access to historical records of former residents of Good Shepherd institutions across Australia

Individualised support to access personal historical records

Referrals to other services if required

This specialist service is based on best practice in “supported access to care-leaver records”. It is holistic and trauma informed.

Our Heritage Engagement Coordinator is the first point of contact for former residents and their families.

Contact usPlease contact our Heritage Engagement Coordinator if you want to ask about our heritage engagement program, access your records, find out about reunions or learn more about a family member who lived in a Good Shepherd home.Good Shepherd Australia New ZealandPO Box 182Abbotsford Vic 3067Australia

Archives

The Good Shepherd Archive is located in Abbotsford, Melbourne. It manages the records of the Good Shepherd Sisters in Australia and New Zealand dating from 1863 until the present day.

The Archive offers a research service to former residents, to their relatives and to people interested in the Good Shepherd mission in Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti. The research service operates part time and operates by mail.

Memorials

We remember, acknowledge and honour all the women and children who spent time in Good Shepherd institutions. We recognise and acknowledge that the conditions within these institutions were tough and isolating for many. We acknowledge their diverse experiences, including loss and trauma. We cannot change the past and are committed to justice, reconciliation and compassion: now and always.

Good Shepherd played a significant role as a residential welfare provider in Australia from the 1800s to the mid-1900s. We’re on a continuing journey in our relationship with former residents, providing access to records, creating memorials, acknowledging individual experiences and making public the life stories of former residents. And we are continually learning about how to reach out and listen to people who have been affected.

Click here to read our apology to former residents who suffered in our care.

Our Memorial Committee works with former residents and local communities to remember, honour and acknowledge women and children who spent time in Good Shepherd institutions.

Memorial events and community projects are announced on the “News & Events” page of our website and local social media.

The Memorial Garden at Good Shepherd Chapel, Abbotsford (Vic) acknowledges the women and children who lived in Good Shepherd Homes, and will honour them for generations to come. It is open every day of the year to all.

10th anniversary of the National Apology to Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants

16 November, 2019 marked the 10th anniversary of the Australian Government’s Apology to Forgotten Australians (people who spent time in care between the 1920s and 1980s) and Former Child Migrants. It was an unqualified apology for the "physical suffering, the emotional starvation and the cold absence of love, of tenderness, of care" while growing up in out-of-home care across the nation.

We placed commemorative flowers on the Memorial Garden at Good Shepherd Chapel, Abbotsford (Vic) to remember, honour and acknowledge the experiences of former residents of Good Shepherd institutions.

We acknowledge people’s diverse experiences, including loss and trauma, while living in out-of-home care. We are continually learning about how to reach out and listen to people affected by their experience.

With the rest of the nation, we say the wrongs of the past must not be repeated.